Any advice about moving?

[marti]

My husband and I are in our 60's and neither is in good health. Major issues on both sides.

Our house has become too big for us and the laundry is in the basement which means stairs. Not good. Not awful, but we will have to go up and down and we have to heat the basement with firewood. No way.

I absolutely love it here and do not want to go, but I know we have to. We bought a ranch house in the next town in a neighborhood which means fairly close houses... not too bad. I am sick over this move. Sam is taking it pretty well.
The one good thing is we will be 7 minutes away from our son.

I am totally stressing about the move, the packing, the mess and the fact that I can't life a box of dust without feeling exhausted. So I won't be much help. My husband is a cheapskate and won't spring for a mover. I'm trying to convince him that we need one. He seems to think we can depend on the kids. They will help, but I'm sure they won't be able to do much for us. Everyone has their own lives, jobs, kids etc.

Anyway I'm pretty sure all my fatigue and pain and chest flutters are probably just anxiety, but I can't tell where the anxiety lets off and the MS fatigue steps in. We are fortunate that we don't have to rush through this. Haven't sold our country place yet. So we might have months to move into the new place.

I just don't know where to begin. I find myself running from one room to the other, beginning to sort out and pack, then getting lost in the process.

Anyone been thru this? Anyone have suggestions? Help!!!

Yes, and it was an exhausting process, even with movers. I can't stress enough how important it is that you hire movers!! Get some estimates, you might find it's less expensive than your husband thinks.

Other than that, the only thing I can suggest is that you go slowly, and try to stay organized. Spend some time just sitting, making plans and lists. Tell your husband what is reasonable for you to do, and make sure he knows he has to do the rest or arrange to have it done.

Another worthwhile expense is to pay to have the house cleaned once everything is moved out, or before, if you will be showing it to prospective buyers.

Hang in there, life will be better and easier once you're in your new house!

[Seasha]

Hi Marti - I feel for you...moving is the pits. I am also in my 60's and can't imagine the magnitude of trying to sort, pack, and move!

The good news is that you have another home already in place for you -and closer to your son!

I would probably be looking for volunteers to help you. Some high schools and colleges have community service volunteers, along with church organizations to help you. You may even want to call the NMSS society 1-800-344-4867 and ask to speak with an MS navigator in your area.

At least volunteers could help with the packing, sorting and clean up. When the time comes for the actual move, your son might be able to get some of his buddies to help you.

Good luck. I don't envy you, but with some phone calls, you should be able to make this transition a bit smoother!

[marti]

Hi Marti - I feel for you...moving is the pits. I am also in my 60's and can't imagine the magnitude of trying to sort, pack, and move!

The good news is that you have another home already in place for you -and closer to your son!

I would probably be looking for volunteers to help you. Some high schools and colleges have community service volunteers, along with church organizations to help you. You may even want to call the NMSS society 1-800-344-4867 and ask to speak with an MS navigator in your area.

At least volunteers could help with the packing, sorting and clean up. When the time comes for the actual move, your son might be able to get some of his buddies to help you.

Good luck. I don't envy you, but with some phone calls, you should be able to make this transition a bit smoother!

Wow.. what a great idea. Never thought of turning to the MS Society. Sam did mention that he might advertise for help on the radio. I am going so slowly, that I feel like I'm in reverse.

[dyin_myelin]

Larger furniture, you need professional movers and insurance unless they're flea market pieces. It is not worth it to injure your childrens' backs. With that decided, the burden shifts to smaller items: sorting/donating/throwing away. You can get a rhythm going if you go by room or types of items.

[Marie12]

you r in my prayers, no advice, i just want to keep your post @ the top

We've moved enough years ago. That always will be my favorite house, that ranch. I painted the entire house before we moved in, including the closets. That is still a rule of mine here, no hanger marks in the closets.

Now, they moved my stuff from our upstairs, to my room downstairs. I;m still not close enough to the fridge, may get a small one in my room. I probably won't since I've discovered I can eat an 'Atkins' bar, and it will count as an entire meal. That's ok for me. I no longer have enogh strength just to heat a frozen meal from the microwave.

Well, my prayers are with you. I got to go, so I have some strength left for the remainder of the day.

[Marie12]

Oh my husband did remove the door to my room & bathroom

He did get a curtain & curtain rod at the "W" store. Sine it is just he and I, we don't need those doors. And the removal or the doors, added about two inches to the door opening.

He also got some of that clear stuff to put on the corners of the walls, so my wheelchair doesn't bang em up. But they r too high. The outside bar of the wheelchair isn't very high. I guess he's worried about me banging my head on the corner. Well u never know

[KatieAgain]

I have moved 15 times in my adult life being in the Military. It's hard. And when I moved with MS it was harder.

It sounds like instead of you trying to figure it all out...let them do it themselves.

Since you are saving so much money on not hiring Movers, take that money and buy a single ticket to Hawaii, get yourself a nice Hotel, find the cutest Cabana Boy there to give you a massage everyday and enjoy the heck out of it! And if your lucky...get your groove back. What you do in Hawaii...stays in Hawaii.

Tell your cheapskate husband and kids that the woman with MS is going on much needed vacation and will be back once they have moved everything. Point out to them that the longer they take, your vacation is going to drain the Savings and any Inheritance Money.

You are moving to the next town. Two Men and a Truck is a lot more reasonable than any aggravation on your part.

[golfore]

Advise?

I have moved 15 times in my adult life being in the Military. It's hard. And when I moved with MS it was harder.

It sounds like instead of you trying to figure it all out...let them do it themselves.

Since you are saving so much money on not hiring Movers, take that money and buy a single ticket to Hawaii, get yourself a nice Hotel, find the cutest Cabana Boy there to give you a massage everyday and enjoy the heck out of it! And if your lucky...get your groove back. What you do in Hawaii...stays in Hawaii.

Tell your cheapskate husband and kids that the woman with MS is going on much needed vacation and will be back once they have moved everything. Point out to them that the longer they take, your vacation is going to drain the Savings and any Inheritance Money.

You are moving to the next town. Two Men and a Truck is a lot more reasonable than any aggravation on your part.

Holy shmoly, that sounds like great advise,,,,, to me.

Parts of her advise might seem a bit extreme, maybe all of it. But, I think she was trying to tell you to figure out a way to "chill out". You have a responsibility to yourself. You have a disease that doesn't mix very well with stress.

You can stress out all you want, but that won't help getting your boxes of dust to your new pad.

p.s. Don't forget the sunscreen.

[rdmc]

We recently moved a couple years. I don't know if they have these in your area, but we used a POD.

This move was easy because of the "pod" and also I was able to leisurely go through 25 years of "stuff" and get rid of what we didn't need to take with us, without any pressure or time constraints.

The way it works, they deliver a POD to your driveway, it's a large container. Then you load up the POD with the things you want to take. Nice thing about it is that you can move furniture into it, at any time, and aren't stuck with the hassle of "moving day."

I went through our home, room by room, threw away, or gave away things that we didn't need, and put the rest of the "stuff" to go to the new house in boxes. Then when a family member would be over, or some friends, we'd have them help empty what we had in that room into the POD. I loved it because I was able to clean out and decide on what exactly I wanted to take.

Once the POD is full and your "stuff" has been packed, you call the company and they move the POD to your new home and leave it in the driveway. Then with the same leisurely approach, you can unload the POD, bit by bit.

This all hinges on the fact that you do need people to come by and help load or unload the POD, but as I said, it's not a move in one day affair. And there is expense in renting the POD, but not near as much as hiring movers

Here's a link to the company's website...don't know if they have it there though. There are other companies now that are doing the same thing, and may be cheaper, you could check into that.

pods.com/Moving

[pinkimartini]

Just finished moving...I can say that I fought fatigue and overheating the entire time. We did the move ourselves but hired someone to unload the truck. I can say if you have movers - let them do the hard work. My new place has stairs and while it didn't seem bad at first...they are my new struggle. I have zero idea where I thought a loft was a good idea.

Haha...I am sending nothing but good thoughts your way. Go at your pace if you have the time and don't worry if it gets broken or lost... Focus on your new place and settling in.

[marti]

Thanks to everyone for all the great ideas. I especially like the "vacation" tip. Only thing is I would be tempted to never come back.

My biggest hurdle is getting my mind around leaving our little farm. I am heartsick about going.

We are lucky that we are not rushed and will be able to do this thing a piece at a time. We have Amish in the area and they might be good to help and they might even do the painting and the few small things we want done before we move. Basically the house is ready... clean and in good shape.

Getting lots of offers of help and great suggestions here on MSWORLD. I'm just scared to death. I tried to do a few tiny little packing jobs and sorting jobs yesterday and was totally wiped out. So I know how hard this is going to be.

[kelm10]

the last move

With my last move, I had a good amount of time to pack. I still ran out of time before the movers came. Then, my family help pack things more.

I promised myself one box per day. That way it was not to much for me.

[marti]

I'm trying to sort and pack little things, but am absolutely exhausted by the smallest movements. I just don't know how I'm going to get thru this. My husband has major health issues too, but he's not worried about it. I wish I could be that way.

At this rate it will take 6 months for me to get one good size box filled.

I called Two Men and a Truck.... wow... expensive. But, they tear down your beds etc and put them back together and they pack some of the boxes. Of course, you have to buy the boxes and packing materials. Still looking around. We might even hire some of the Amish to help.

Anyway, I'm starting to get my head around this move. I still hate it.

[palmtree]

I feel for you leaving a home that you love. At least you have homes that you own.

If you haven't sold the other first house, you can slowly move the things you don't use all the time and organize them in the new house. Then, gather all the things you need to survive: a suitcase of clothes, some food and utensils, your bed and a table. Put them in a truck and go sleep at the new house while you finish emptying the old house.

And, I agree, hiring some help would be definitely worth it. Moving is hard enough, but moving with MS... I don't know.